Material requirement on the increase in the wake of economic
recession

Corrected on 28 March 2012. The correction is
indicated in red. Was previously 100 million tonnes.

Total material requirement in Finland's economy amounted to 537
million tonnes in 2010. This equals just over 100 tonnes per capita. Total material requirement
is the sum of domestic and foreign direct inputs and hidden flows.
In 2010, total material requirement turned into sharp growth from
the year before. Use of wood and minerals increased most, both by
25 per cent. By contrast, the used amount of plants decreased by 14
per cent, mainly due to diminished grain crop.

Total material requirement by material groups
1970–2010

These are the first economy-wide material flow accounts data
released by Statistics Finland. The time series of these data (from
1970 and 2009) were previously compiled by the Thule Institute of
the University of Oulu. The accounts form part of environmental
accounts, on which the European Union passed a regulation this
year.

The trend in total material requirement showed a clear decline
after the oil crisis of the mid-1970s, through the early part of
the 1990s and in the year 2009. In spite of these temporary drops,
total material requirement has almost doubled from 1970 to 2010. By
international comparison, Finland's total material requirement per
capita is notably high.

The impact of Finland's economy on the material requirement of
other countries has also grown strongly. In four decades, direct
inputs of imports have grown 2.3-fold and hidden flows of imports
3.5-fold.

The material intensity of Finland's economy, or the amount of
used material relative to GDP, was the lowest, i.e. the most
efficient, in 2009. The intensity weakened clearly in 2010.